Raising Boys – Their Differences Matter

A summary of research from Child Trends recently highlighted many of those differences and was written about by Dr. Ramey in Dayton Children’s Hospital Blog.

Hey discuss that during childhood, boys tend to have developmental problems at a much higher rate than girls. Boys are twice as likely than girls to be diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and are four times more likely to have Autism. These differences extend to the classroom. Boys are 50% more likely to need to be held back a grade and are two-thirds more likely to need an Individual Education Plan. Girls graduate high school at a higher rate than boys and are more likely to earn a college degree.

The article concludes with three things to watch out for particularly for boys. The first is to be wary of diagnoses of Attention Deficit Disorder. Sometimes normal adolescent behavior is misdiagnosed as a disorder. Next, understand school performance might be affected by school structure. Boys tend to learn better in shorter intervals followed by breaks, such as recess. And finally, your individual parenting style might be different for girls and boys and that may affect their personal development. Activities like singing and reading are typically done more for girls but can be beneficial for both genders. Each child needs to raised according to their individual needs.

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Articles written by SensoryEdge are a combined effort of the SensoryEdge publishing staff. At SensoryEdge our focus is to educate, inform, and inspire each person caring for children to be and do their very best. It is not always easy and sometimes we don't take action (or we take the wrong action) because of a lack of understanding the real issues. We hope that the conversations that occur here will help in some small way better the lives of children, their families, and the professionals who work with them.